


Yeehawgust Day 27: Showdown

by TheSoleWookieCourier



Series: Yeehawgust 2019 [22]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 03:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21421264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSoleWookieCourier/pseuds/TheSoleWookieCourier
Series: Yeehawgust 2019 [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543978
Kudos: 2
Collections: Yeehawgust 2019





	Yeehawgust Day 27: Showdown

“You have a lot of balls, showing up here like this.” Erich Richardson felt the barrel of a shotgun press into the base of his skull, right under the brim of his combat helmet. He swore at himself internally; one, for leaving himself in such a vulnerable position, and the other because he knew who was holding the shotgun to his head.

Raising his hands into a surrendering position, he began to stand up, taking care to not accidentally step on the body of the woman gasping for air at his feet. Tears stung his eyes as he began to turn around.

“Seriously, man; what in the fucking hell do you think you’re doing?” Deacon asked, his voice devoid of any of his normal jovial tone. Instead, his tone was steely and blunt, his face hard enough to look like it had been cast in steel.

“Deacon… I don’t want to do this. Please.” Erich pleaded, his voice shaky. Behind him, Desdemona’s rasped a cry for someone named Sam as the last vestiges of life left her.

“You’re too goddamn late!” Deacon shouted. “You show up here, with the fucking Brotherhood, ready to kill everyone who stands in your way! And then you have the audacity to fucking tell me that you don’t want to do this?”

“Deacon… I’m serio-” Erich’s response was cut short as Deacon slammed the stock of his shotgun into the Sole Survivor’s face. Erich staggered, falling to one knee.

“Seriously, man. What did it take, hm? Did they promise you a shiny rank and a new suit of power armor? A vertibird full of caps? Oh, I know what it was; you’re such an obedient lap dog, you never questioned your orders!” Deacon ranted, levelling the shotgun at Erich’s face. Erich looked up, a large gash on his cheek and a black eye forming.

“I swear, Deacon, I didn’t want to do this.” he gasped, his breathing ragged. “I tried to do everything I could to try and convince Maxson to leave the Railroad alone. I tried to get him to come negotiate with you guys, to have you guys show him what you see. I’ve been putting this off, trying to find any other way to keep this from happening.”

“Bullshit.” Deacon spat. “And now, I’m going to make sure that Maxson gets his pretty boy back in a bodybag!”

Erich lunged, catching the barrel of the shotgun in the crook of his hand. He pushed upwards, causing the blast from the shotgun to discharge into the ceiling. He drew back his other fist, sending it into the other man’s face. Deacon stumbled back, crashing into a shelf, the shotgun dropping from his hands.

“Deacon, listen to me! You can walk away from this! Don’t make this harder than it already is.” Erich pleaded, his fists raised. The Railroad agent regained his footing and came swinging at the Sole Survivor.

“How? You might think that I can, but I know what lies in store for me: looking over my shoulder for you replacement in the Brotherhood, sent to tie up your loose ends.” Deacon responded between blows as the two began to grapple hand to hand. “I’m not an idiot; Maxson isn’t going to just let me walk away.”

The fight continued, with the upper hand switching several times, both swearing at and trying to reason with the other. At one point, Erich had Deacon in a chokehold while both of them were on the ground.

“Deacon… just give up… I promise you… there’s nothing I won’t do… to keep… the Brotherhood… from tracking you down!” he gasped, trying to catch his breath and maintain leverage. In response, Deacon drew back his elbow, driving it into Erich’s chest. Winded, Erich released the other man from his hold, and Deacon rolled away, wheezing. As he did so, his hand brushed against Erich’s revolver in it’s holster. Grabbing it, he stood up, pointing the gun directly at Erich’s head.

“I guess this is the end of the line for you.” Deacon said coldly, drawing the hammer back. “Goodbye, Richardson.”

Erich rolled to his knees as Deacon pulled the trigger, feeling the bullet rip into his right arm. He grabbed the other man’s hands and tried to force the gun away. As the two men were struggling over the weapon, it discharged again, causing both men to fall away.

Erich laid on his back for a second, trying to determine if he had been hit. After deciding he had not received another bullet wound, he sat up, propping himself up on his left elbow. The sight he saw instantly made him forget the pain he felt from the battering he had taken from his friend. Deacon was on his back, sprawled in a painful position, a crimson stain spreading across his shirt.

“No no no no no…” Erich breathed, quickly getting on his hands and knees and crawling over to his friend. He placed his hands on Deacon’s abdomen in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

“Don’t…” Deacon croaked. Erich looked at his friend in shock.

“If I don’t do this, you will die.” He said, his voice shaky. Deacon reached up and weakly pushed Erich’s hands away, grasping the wrists and raising his head as best he could to look at the man trying to save him.

“At this point… it doesn’t matter. The Railroad...is dead. I don’t have… anyone… or anything…” he said, struggling to breathe. “I’m sorry… for how this… has to end…”

“Me too, Deacon. Me too.” Erich replied. Deacon chuckled weakly.

“Huh… I don’t see… any light… at the end of a tunnel… but it’s… surprisingly… warm…” Deacon sighed. His head fell back, and his grip on Erich’s wrists was released, his hands falling to the floor.

When the Brotherhood strike team entered the Railroad’s headquarters, they found their lead paladin kneeling on the floor, staring blankly at the corpse of a man. One of them came up to the paladin, informing him that he needed medical attention. With the assistance from the knight, Erich made his way to the main chapel, where a medic saw to his wounds. He was silent the whole time, a dead look frozen on his face.

It wasn’t until he stepped out of the front door of the Old North Church, alone, that things changed. It was raining heavily outside, and as the Sole Survivor felt water run down his face, he could taste the salt from the tears that finally came, mixing with the moisture of the rain. With a slow walk, he made his way back to the vertibird that had brought him.


End file.
